Lessons learned from starting, building, and selling CD Baby. A 47-minute talk in 8 parts of about 6 minutes a piece or so.

The thing I like about Derek is that he’s such a nice guy who clearly wants to help people (I’ve never met him in person but being reader of his blog and follower of him online, it’s obvious). And when he sold CD Baby — for a hefty sum — he donated the proceeds. (Not that there would have been anything wrong with keeping what he rightfully earned.) In this short video series, he shares some nice nuggets from his journey. I enjoyed it. Perhaps you will too.

In the beginning, it was Borgsmiller and one airplane, and he launched the business with financial help from family and credit cards.

“There was no money,” he said. “I was just starting cold turkey and had no real resources. I had to keep expenses to a bare minimum. You can go a long way on $500 a month if you live in your office.”

And, more recently:

Five years ago, ACI had 46 employees. Now, it boasts 85, with the majority of new hires in highly skilled positions such as pilots, mechanics and line-service specialists (employees who perform a range of tasks from refueling planes to towing them), Robillard said.

The company declined to disclose financial data but noted that revenues have grown more than 50 percent since 2009. Its growth facilitated the need to build a 36,000-square-foot hangar and maintenance facility, which opened in December 2012. The company spent $7 million on the maintenance hangar and site M ramp — the concrete parking area for planes in front of the hangar — and invested an additional $500,000 on maintenance equipment and tooling.

The improving economy is partly behind the revitalization of the local art scene, but it’s not the only thing driving it. Local galleries are reinventing themselves, delving into new markets and accessing art buyers in ways that old-school galleries never imagined.

A few years ago I wanted to start sharing things I was learning, as a technical freelancer and self-employed technology services provider.

This is when ITConsultingLessons.com was born. First as a small email list – that grew to over 200 subscribers – and now a blog. If you’re a technical freelancer — current or aspiring, full-timer or moonlighter — I invite you to join us.

ITConsultingLessons.com: A blog about being a self-employed freelancer, consultant, or service provider. Edited by a consulting technologist.

If “investors” frenetically bought and sold farmland to each other, neither the yields nor prices of their crops would be increased. The only consequence of such behavior would be decreases in the overall earnings realized by the farm-owning population because of the substantial costs it would incur as it sought advice and switched properties.

Nevertheless, both individuals and institutions will constantly be urged to be active by those who profit from giving advice or effecting transactions. The resulting frictional costs can be huge and, for investors in aggregate, devoid of benefit. So ignore the chatter, keep your costs minimal, and invest in stocks as you would in a farm.

What they all have in common is they wake up every day and ask: “What are the biggest trends in the world, and how do I best invent/reinvent my business to thrive from them?” They’re fixated on creating abundance, not redividing scarcity, and they respect no limits on imagination. No idea here is “off the table.”

Then, after you’ve been totally energized by people inventing the future, you go back to your hotel room and catch up with the present: the news from Washington.

What You’ll Find Here

I write about how business people, technologists, and others can improve their results with technology and do their best work.

I also write about freelancing, self-employment, productivity, and entrepreneurship.

These are all topics deeply relevant to my day-to-day activities and directly tied to my expertise and experiences.

You'll also find information on the various things I create -- such as special events for technologists, the consulting I do for individuals and organizations, and what resources are available for those who wish to go beyond what is on my blog, in my email postings, or in my letters.

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For a list of all the ways technology has failed to improve the quality of life, please press three.

-- Alice Kahn

"Juggling so many things" is something I constantly struggle with, and I am often surprised just how few things I should do if I want to make great progress on anything.

About Me

I create and share solutions that help remarkable people (and the organizations they are a part of) improve their results and do their best work. I am the former CTO of an IT services provider. My career has been built around harnessing technology to achieve professional, personal, and organizational goals for myself and others. I now write, create, and consult full-time. I am married with one son. I love burritos & great beer. I am based on the beautiful California Central Coast.

Join My Private Mailing List

Like what you've seen?

As a first step, become a member of my private email list! I write about how business people and technologists can improve their results with technology and do their best work, along with sharing resources on leadership and productivity.